Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Dark Cora.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Dark Coraxe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hinnerup, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to create new freely-flowering Kalanchoe cultivars with compact plant habit and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Kalanchoe is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Cora, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,301. The cultivar Dark Cora was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within a population of plants of the cultivar Cora in a controlled environment in Hinnerup, Denmark.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal cuttings taken at Hinnerup, Denmark, by the Inventor, has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Dark Cora has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Dark Coraxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Dark Coraxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and compact plant habit.
2. Dark green-colored leaves.
3. Large light red purple-colored flowers.
4. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe are most similar to plants of the cultivar Cora and differ primarily from plants of the cultivar Cora in flower color.